R.I. Life Science Hub board approves three-year, $400K CEO contract

Rhode Island’s Life Science Hub’s first permanent president and CEO is set to begin work on Jan. 13, according to a contract approved Tuesday.

The agency’s 15-member volunteer board of directors gave its consent to the selection of Dr. Mark Turco, picked to be its leader on Dec. 12. Turco must still be confirmed by the Rhode Island Senate when it reconvenes in January.

Med tech innovator chosen to be first CEO of Rhode Island Life Science Hub

A Senate confirmation date has not yet been scheduled, though the Senate intends to take the vote up “early in the session,” Greg Pare, a Senate spokesperson, said via text.

“We’re thrilled to have him in the queue to get approved,” Neil Steinberg, chairman of the board, said during the meeting.

Turco, brings 25 years of industry experience to the nascent life science agency, including in his most recent job heading two cardiovascular tech firms. As the hub’s CEO, he will be charged with laying out the year-old agency’s strategic plan and annual operating budget, while forging connections and partnerships with businesses and institutions to grow the state’s life science sector.

“Mark’s got a great Rolodex outside of Rhode Island,” Steinberg said during the meeting. “We’ll supply that Rolodex inside Rhode Island, and we think it’ll be very positive, productive and probably fast-paced.”

The three-year contract, obtained by Rhode Island Current, comes with a $400,000 annual salary, along with an annual bonus of up to 10% and a 3% annual cost-of-living adjustment. His salary will be paid for through the Hub’s existing $45 million budget, allocated as part of the state’s fiscal 2024 spending plan that also created the agency.

Since its first meeting in January, finding a permanent leader to steer the nascent agency and its volunteer board of directors has been a top priority. But the search took longer than expected, forcing the hub to select an interim president — former board member Patrice Milos — to fill the leadership void temporarily beginning in July. Her month-to-month contract is slated to end in January.

Milos will return to her role as an appointed board member, pending confirmation by Gov. Dan McKee, in February, Steinberg said.

Turco was plucked from a field of more than 300 applicants, including two other finalists, through a national search conducted by consultant Korn Ferry. 

Starting in the new year, the Hub will have a new office in downtown Providence. The 12-month lease with CIC Providence at 225 Dyer St., offers proximity to industry experts and institutions, Steinberg said. The agency is expected to move offices again at the end 2025, once its wet lab incubator within the new state health lab opens.